Few things unite a room of battling Republicans more than a Democrat with a head full of ideas about how to spend money.
Fresh from a week of infighting between House Republicans, President Obama’s newly released budget proposal has provided GOP members a welcome opportunity to stand together.
It may be an easy target, but the White House’s $3.37 trillion budget has emboldened House Republicans, with a few exceptions, to take a breather from debating each other over their own ideas about how to fund the government and focus again on something they can all enjoy together: slamming Democrats.
Last week, the new crop of GOP freshman successfully pressured House leadership into directing the Appropriations Committee to find no less than $100 billion in cuts. The committee released the finished product late Friday night.
Now that the $100 billion mark is settled (for now), and the budget from the White House is out to the public, Republicans, from the Tea Party-backed freshman to the “establishment” members in leadership, are singing in unison again.
“The president’s budget is more of the reckless borrowing and spending that will continue to cost jobs and slow our economic recovery,” said Wisconsin Rep. Sean Duffy, echoing sentiments from his fellow freshman class.
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker John Boehner released a similar statement Monday.
“President Obama says he wants to win the future, but the future will not be won by repeating the mistakes of the past and failing to live up to our responsibilities in the present,” Cantor said. “The future will be won by bold and honest leadership that addresses our challenges head on.”
The House is expected to pass the continuing resolution that was released Friday and pass it onto the Senate where it will face tougher scrutiny.